17 July 2012

Mogadishu - Forgotten Pasts and Distant Futures

Over the course of its
history, Mogadishu has been influenced by the diverse cultures of its various
rulers, residents and visiting traders; a combination of influences that strongly
informed the city’s subsequent social, cultural and physical characteristics.
However, Mogadishu’s pre-civil war architecture and built form largely owes its
morphology to the region’s former colonial power, Italy, the last of the
European powers to join the ‘scramble for Africa’.

Forgotten Pasts and
Distant Futures is an installation that charts the urban transformation of
Mogadishu, from the late 19th century to the first few decades of the 20th
century. The unique, site-specific presentation in Swiss Cottage Library – one
of London’s iconic modernist buildings – allows, for the first time, a broader
audience to engage with this aspect of the city’s history. The project is
designed and curated by P.E.A.R. co-editor Rashid Ali.

About

P.E.A.R. (Paper for Emerging Architectural Research) aims to re-establish the fanzine as a primary medium for the dissemination of architectural ideas, musings, research and works, and to present the complexity and variety of architectural practice. We actively seek to publish thinking that wouldn't ordinarily be seen in the mainstream architectural press, and we are interested in showing that the architectural is concerned with more than just architecture.
Editorial team: Rashid Ali, Matthew Butcher, Julian Krueger and Megan O’Shea.
Designed by: Avni Patel
Contact: info@pearmagazine.eu

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